The White Fox |book 1|

Chapter 22

(Flame's POV)

With careful hands, I lift the bomb I had just made off from the desk. Looking over my shoulder, I see Blue Storm and Wild Mustang fast asleep. Good.

Tiptoeing quietly through the hallway, I make my way towards Jet Star's room. He is fast asleep, as is Fun Ghoul, who is sleeping across the room.

The orders given to me were to make Party Poison weak and vulnerable, giving me the perfect time to kill him. Then, I will take White Fox back to headquarters.

Once Jet Star is gone, I'm just one step closer to succeeding the plan.

I place the bomb underneath his bed, set the timer to 1 minute. For a split second, I get the feeling I'm being watched. Turning around just to make sure I'm alone, I sigh in relief. I am alone.

Without being seen by anyone, I slip out the door and back into my bedroom, acting like I was asleep.

I count down on my fingers, laying on my bed with a devilish smirk on my face. "Three, two, one."

Boom

(White Fox's POV)

My heart breaks as Gerard buries his head into his dead friend's lifeless body; his back shook at each sob. I attempt to walk over to Gerard to comfort him, but I feel a hand on my shoulder.

I look up and see Black Wolf, who I had presumed didn't like me, give me a sympathetic look. "He needs time to grieve. You can comfort him later." His usually harsh green eyes had softened.

Nodding in understanding, I stand beside Red, who had rushed to the scene with the other Killjoys.

Everyone's heads were bowed in silence for the fallen friend. My eyes scan the room; Kobra's face drooped with sadness, but he didn't shed tears like his brother had. Ghoul was sobbing quietly, trying to hide it, and Wolf, Threat, and Confetti were silent.

I look at Tommy next to me and see him holding Grace's hand.  Red didn't cry, but she paid her respect to Jet by keeping the silence; even Blue Storm and Wild Mustang looked upset, all except for Flame Seeker.

His blank expression showed no sign of emotion for the loss of a Killjoy. My eyes narrow at him; something told me he had something to do with Jet's death, and I was gonna make sure he would get caught red-handed.

After the brief moment of silence, Gerard, Ghoul, and Kobra lift their friend's body off the floor, covered in burn marks. His face was barely recognizable underneath the charred skin.

The rest of us follow them out the door and walk in one direction, following Gerard, Ghoul, and Kobra carrying Jet's body.

"Where are we going?" I whisper to Red, who was walking alongside me.

"We're going to bury Jet Star." Red replies, looking at the road in front of her. "We have a special spot to bury our fallen ones; it's the same place White Smoke is buried."

The rest of the journey towards the burial ground consisted of the occasional murmurs of voices in quiet conversation. My eyes lift upward when I see an eagle circling the desert floor in  search of prey.

While I was busy admiring the nature, Red taps my shoulder, bringing me back from la la land,and looks at me. "We're here, Fox."

The sight that stood before me was quite odd indeed. There were several large dips in the desert floor, some empty and some covered in sand. At the edge of the holes sat a mailbox-looking thing, which had caught my eye and spiked my interest.

"Red, what is that mailbox-looking thing?" I ask, pointing to the blue object.

"This is how we communicate with the fallen." Red explains, looking off into the distance mystically. She looks back at me. "We write them letters and send them the letters. Sometimes we even get letters back."

Still gazing at the blue thing sticking up in the sand, I nod, showing her that I had listened.

"My Killjoys!" Gerard's voice cracks with grief as he shouts to us to get our attention. "It is with great sorrow that we must say goodbye to Jet Star, one of our most loyal Killjoys. He trained with me when we were young and we have always been very close. I still can't believe he is gone due to a tragic accident."

Kobra, Ghoul, and Gerard lift Jet up and gently lay him in one of the empty pockets in the sand.

"May you have safe travels to the kingdom of Destroya and find favor with him. We all bless you dearly, Jet Star. You will be missed." After Gerard spoke, everyone began to cover him with sand.

Red and I approach everyone, chipping in on helping bury Jet Star. Even though I wasn't close to him, it still hurt that one of us was gone.

The fiery rage inside of me grew stronger as I thought about Flame. It wasn't fair for him to get away with that! I would turn him in, but I had no proof that he murdered Jet Star.

They'll obviously see the remains of the bomb, so maybe they can check everyone's rooms for the substances in the bomb or something.

Whatever it took, I wanted Flame to be caught and punished for his crimes, and soon too; I had a feeling Jet Star wasn't going to be the last of the victims to get hurt or killed by Flame.

~

Night had fallen and The Nest was dead silent. Everyone was holding a silent vigil for Jet Star.

I decide to take the opportunity to visit with Skeleton.

I made my way towards our usual meeting spot. As I stood there for a few minutes, I became worried that he had gotten mad and decided not to talk to me anymore.

Just as I was about to give up on him, I hear him whisper in my ear. "So you decided to come back for me, huh princess?"

His voice startled me and I spin around to find him with that same smirk on his face. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his messy brown hair hung over one of his eyes.

"I'm, er, sorry for leaving you that day." I apologize nervously. "I got kinda caught up with-"

"I know, I know; Party gave you your Killjoy name and then he asked you out, I get it, sweetheart." Skeleton finishes my sentence sarcastically. "Now, you sure as hell didn't come out here just to apologize to me about that, did you?"

I hesitate before replying, biting my lip. "Um, in case you haven't heard, Flame killed Jet Star."

Skeleton's eyes went wide with shock. He turns around and paces back and forth with his hands in his hair, muttering something under his breath. "No, no, no, not my best friend. What happened to him that made him this way?"

I pat Skeleton's shoulder with reassurance. "Mark my words, Skeleton, I will make sure he is stopped."

Skeleton just looks at me; his eyes were glossy from crying. Suddenly, he pulls me in a hug. "I wish I could go back and live with everyone again. It wasn't my fault Rose died; she told us to escape."

"You'll be able to come back, once I reveal Flame to everyone." I assure.

Just then, a lightbulb went on in my head. "I've got it! I know how we can expose Flame!"

Skeleton pulls away, giving me a confused look. "How?"

"We'll take him into the testing room and interrogate him and he would have to tell the truth." I reply, secretly hoping my plan was going to work.